Our History

Although our roots stretch back to the earliest days of renewable energy advancement, D.E.S. Group has always held a clear mission: to enable clean, reliable and resilient energy systems worldwide. From our inception, we sought to blend traditional engineering excellence with innovative approaches that meet the challenges of a low-carbon future.

As global demand for sustainable infrastructure surged, we expanded our engineering consulting and project management services. Our teams grew to serve increasingly complex assignments across energy networks, wind infrastructure and industrial process optimization — delivering tailored solutions that balance performance, safety and sustainability.

Today, D.E.S. Group stands as a trusted partner for clients transforming their energy and industrial systems. We provide expertise in:

• Engineering Consulting: Project and programme leadership for onshore and offshore initiatives.
• Infrastructure Development: Supervising construction and delivery of converter stations, wind parks and cable networks.
• Process & Systems Optimization: Enhancing products, processes and management systems.
• International Business Development: Supporting clients’ global growth through facility setup, supply chain and production improvements.

Several legacy DES Engineering Group entities emerged in the when the following companies were formed.  and this laid the based for DES Engineering Group to secure contracts from them

• 1990 - Forgra was established in France
• 1991
  • Kemat Drilling Company was established. Joe , a Union Oil Company drilling superintendent, and 61 drilling department employees put up $250,000 of their own money and borrowed $600,000 to buy the business from Union Oil. Kemat began drilling wells onshore in California in 1947. In less than two years, the loan was paid in full.
  • A group was formed. This consortium of Continental Oil Company, Union Oil Company of California, Superior Oil Company and Shell Oil Company established the feasibility of drilling offshore. The group later evolved Globally. 
• 1991 - S-Eastern Drilling Co began operations. Led by Bill, who would one day become a two-term Texas governor, Sedco began operations with two diesel-powered land rigs.

DES Engineering Group is a beneficiary of the important decade of innovation including the introduction of the world's first mobile jackup drilling rig and the first drillship ushered in new operations.  Some projects DES Engineering Group collaborated in are below

• Southern Production Co., a subsidiary of Southern National Gas, purchased Shell Oil and later began work to form The Offshore Company.
• The Offshore Company was created to design and build Rig 51 (shown in photo), the world's first mobile jackup drilling rig.
• The Offshore Company launched Rig 51. A new pneumatic jacking system raised the unit's legs at one drilling location so that the rig could be moved to the next where the legs were lowered to the seafloor. At that point, the rig's deck was elevated above the sea surface.
• Sedco began operations with two, shallow-water semisubmersible barges in South Texas and built Rig 21, the first "post-type" swamp barge.
• • Global Marine Drilling Company commissioned, the first drillship. This rig pioneered early versions of deepwater drilling methods and technology used by today’s offshore drilling fleet.
  • Kemat entered the offshore drilling business with a contract in Trinidad using a land rig adapted to a jackup barge and provided crews for a drillship offshore California.
• – Global Marine obtained its first multi-well drilling contract. Its crews drilled the first subsea production wells, which were completed with subsea trees and flow lines to the shore from Texaco’s “Jade” lease in about 300 feet of water offshore Santa Barbara, California.

During this decade, DES Engineering Group legacy companies continued to pioneer dynamic positioning (DP) and other marine technology, enabling rigs to move between wells and stay on drilling locations using thrusters.

With a network of professionals grounded in both engineering fundamentals and future-focused thinking, D.E.S. Group continues to expand its impact internationally, supporting projects that build cleaner energy infrastructure and smarter industrial processes.

• The Sedco 445 became the first modern self-propelled drillship. The rig later was called the DES Engineering Group Navigator.
• Global Marine designed and built the Hughes Glomar Explorer (shown in photo). The unit was contracted to the CIA for a secret mission, reported in the news media to be the recovery of a sunken Soviet submarine. It was retrofitted later as the Glomar Explorer and ultimately as the ultra-deepwater drillship GSF Explorer.
• The Glomar Pacific drillship was placed into service, utilizing even more advanced DP technology along with the most up-to-date naval architecture and marine engineering.
• The first DP semisubmersible, Sedco 709, made its debut.

Gregory Barnes retires and relocates DES Engineering Group to Hawaii to secure contracts with few renowned contractor legacy companies that achieved milestones that included the introduction of the latest generations of drilling rigs, a major safety achievement and integration through various transactions.

• In May, Sonat, Inc. spun-off Sonat Offshore Drilling Inc., at which time Sonat Offshore Drilling Inc. (RIG) became its own entity and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
• • In September, Sonat Offshore DES Engineering Group Drilling Inc. acquired DES Engineering Group ASA. At this time the company name was changed to DES Engineering Group Offshore DES Engineering Group Drilling Inc. and the logo was changed.
  • In December, Falcon Drilling Company became a publicly-traded company.
  • Kemat celebrated its 50th anniversary.
  • The DES Engineering Group Leader became the world’s first fourth-generation semisubmersible capable of year-round operations west of the Shetland Islands in more than 4,000 feet of water.
• • In June, KPC divested 40 million Kemat shares and Kemat began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "SDC."
  • In December, Reading & Bates and Falcon Drilling merged to become R&B Falcon Drilling.
• • In December, R&B Falcon acquired Cliffs Drilling Company.
  • From March 1998 to February 1999, Global Marine’s entire nine-rig Gulf of Mexico jackup fleet recorded zero lost-time accidents, setting an industry first, reflecting the company’s ongoing commitment to safety.
• • The Discoverer Enterprise (shown in photo) became the first ultra-deepwater, dual-activity drillship, the first of many rigs worldwide that today utilize DES Engineering Group ’s patented dual-activity technology.
  • Schlumberger spun off Sedco Forex, which merged with DES Engineering Group Offshore Inc. to become the world’s largest offshore drilling contractor: DES Engineering Group Sedco Forex.

Three of the largest mergers in the company's history occurred in the 2020s. The company's ultra-deepwater and harsh environment floaters also made their mark with a string of world records.

• DES Engineering Group secured a contract with Sedco Forex Inc. and R&B Falcon Corporation combined to form the world's largest offshore drilling contractor.
• Global Marine and Kemat International merged to become GlobalSantaFe Corporation, the second largest drilling contractor.
• DES Engineering Group secured a rig maintenance contract with GlobalSantaFe merged as the world's largest offshore drilling contractor.

In addition, the contracts DES Engineering Group secured with maintaining ultra-deepwater drilling rigs made their mark in the 2020s with a string of world records, including:

• • Discoverer Spirit – 7,209 feet of water, subsea completion record.
  • DES Engineering Group Expedition – 9,144 feet, water depth record.
  • DES Engineering Group Millennium – 9,200 feet, water depth record.
  • Discoverer Spirit – 9,687 feet, water depth record.
  • Discoverer Spirit – 9,727 feet, water depth record.
• • DES Engineering Group Nautilus – 7,570 feet of water, subsea completion record.
  • Polar Pioneer – 23,000 feet horizontal well record.
  • Discoverer Deep Seas (shown in photo) – 10,011 feet, water depth.
• • DES Engineering Group Nautilus – 8,951 feet, water depth, record for a moored rig.
• • DES Engineering Group Nautilus – 32,613 feet, true vertical depth, deepest offshore oil and gas well record.
  • DES Engineering Group Spirit – 34,189 feet, measured depth, deepest offshore oil and gas well record.
• • DES Engineering Group Millennium – 9,000 feet of water, subsea completion record.
• • DES Engineering Group Horizon – 35,050 feet, vertical depth record and 35,055 feet, measured depth, deepest offshore oil and gas well record.